FOUR down, 19 to go.

WE are starting to get a clearer picture of how the 2019 fantasy season will unfold, with drama showing it’s ugly face. Rookie woes will force a lot of coaches’ hands this week on the trade front with the likes of Lachie Whitfield, Travis Boak and Lachie Neale proving they’re the real deal.

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MY TEAM

1988 – The year that Home & Away was created.
AS difficult as it is sometimes to come up with fun facts for my score, I would much rather see a high total than do an Aussie history Google search thanks to a sub 2020 score. Things could have been a lot worse if some heroes didn’t come to the party on Sunday and Dunkley virtually sealed his fate. Setterfield’s suspension has me thinking outside the box though…

FRY’S FAVOURITE FIVE

Honourable Mentions: Marc Murphy (135), Andrew Gaff (134), Tom Rockliff (132), Zach Merrett (128), Max Gawn (125)

+5. Patrick Cripps, Blues (MID, $819K – 163)
THERE is a reason a lot of coaches started the year with the Blues bulldozer and he rewarded over 45% of the competition with the weekend’s highest score. The fourth most popular captain choice turned out to be a wise investment with Cripps posting the best score of his career (one point better than his previous high).

+4. Brodie Grundy, Magpies (RUC, $828K – 153)
GRUNDY owners were treated to a Friday night spectacle as the games best ruckmen went to town on the Bulldogs. Beating the Dogs in the hitouts 58-6 on his own, Grundy illustrated once again why he is worth paying top dollar for.

+3. Lachie Neale, Lions (MID, $809K – 139)
LACHIE Neale’s third straight appearance in the Favourite Five makes him near must have property. +10 in three rounds, Neale is going at a whopping 140 in those contests and is solidifying himself as a contender for the No. 1 midfielder mantle.

+2. Touk Miller, Suns (MID, $656K – 149)
SHOUTOUT to Touk Miller, who I’ve been a longtime fan of. He tackled his way to an unreal score and only 0.2% of coaches benefitted from it! Kudos Touky.

+1. Sam Walsh, Blues (MID, $486K – 119)
THIS kid is something special. I wanted to put him higher, but there were some unreal scores this weekend. Still, Walsh found a way to stand out, even with Patrick Cripps balling out against Gold Coast as well. He is nearly averaging 100 on the year and will be in our sides for a long time.

Image from foxsports.com.au

FRY’S FRUSTRATING FIVE

Dishonourable Mentions: Adam Treloar (82), Devon Smith (79), Angus Brayshaw (79), Justin Westhoff (47), Luke Dahlhaus (44), Callum Sinclair (37)

-5. Sam Menegola, Cats (MID/FWD, $638K – 37)
ARE you %#@*ing kidding me Gola? He still played 75% of the game and failed to record double-digit points in two out of his four quarters. It’s so disgusting that you’d want to trade him out and never bring him back and honestly, I can’t blame you.

-4. Patrick Dangerfield, Cats (MID/FWD, $784K – 66)
A very popular captain option in Round 4, Danger let a ton of coaches down on the weekend. We were expecting big things and with 50 first-half points, things were looking promising. I’m sure he’ll be back to his best on the Easter Monday stage, but people won’t be captaining him with as much confidence again.

-3. Tim Kelly, Cats (MID/FWD, $657K – 58)
I’M sensing a theme here with the third straight Geelong MID/FWD and Luke Dahlhaus is lucky not to appear on the list. Kelly was shut down by the Matt DeBoer tag and was showing ill effects from his ankle complaint. An extra few days off should hopefully see him return to a score of 90+.

-2. Dom Sheed, Eagles (MID, $641K – 65)
WE always thought that Andrew Gaff back in the mix would hurt Sheed’s scores, but my goodness. Averaging a hair under 80 in his last two, Sheed’s numbers against Port Adelaide don’t give owners much optimism and it might be time to start thinking of alternatives.

-1. Josh Dunkley, Bulldogs (MID/FWD, $606K – 67)
FOOL me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, shame on both of us. Fool me four times? GTFO of our teams. Enough is enough, time to cut your losses.

TRADE TACTICS

IN – Lachie Whitfield (DEF, $830K – 132) was the 5th most traded in player last week and after another great outing, only Tom Mitchell and Jack Macrae will cost you more. A cheaper option who is annually in the top-6 defensive mix is James Siciliy (DEF, $656K – 111) fresh off a season-best score. As I’ve already mentioned Lachie Neale (MID, $809K – 139) is a legitimate target with Shane Mumford (RUC, $461K – 81) scored in the 80’s for the second consecutive week, putting his hand up as a potential downgrade option to save you a ton of coin from an underperformer.

Image from foxsports.com.au

RICHMOND youngsters Jack Ross (MID, $220K – 86) and Sydney Stack (MID, $242K – 41) are the popular cash cows this week and a lot of eyes will be watching to see if they can hold their spot in the side. Marty Hore (DEF, $228K – 93) who was a late inclusion for the Demons rewarded the coaches who own him and if he holds his spot he could be a great downgrade. Being a late in has me worrying about his job security, especially with Jay Lockhart and Jordan Lewis potential inclusions this weekend.

OUT –  IT might be time to part ways with Dom Sheed (MID, $641K – 65), especially if he continues to struggle with Gaff back in the side. He might deserve one more chance against Port, but like I said history suggests he scores miserably against the Power. The combination of Josh Dunkley (MID/FWD, $606K – 67) and Sam Menegola (MID/FWD, $638K – 37) have failed to live up to expectations and could make way for the likes of Jack Billings (FWD, $659K – 124).

A two-match ban has been handed to Will Setterfield (MID/FWD, $348K – 70) after his tackle that concussed Suns youngster Wil Powell. Currently, in 61% of teams, he’ll be one of the most popular trades out this week. His teammate Michael Gibbons (MID, $251K – 49) could find himself sent back to the two’s to build some confidence and Jordan Clark (DEF, $329K – 33) is ready to be offloaded after a lacklustre effort pushed his break-even up to 42.

WAIVER WIRE MOVES

IT’S time to look at potential draft additions with another batch of waiver-wire targets emerging. Jason Johannisen (DEF, 59% – 105) is probably sitting on the wire after he returned from injury with a bang. Should you need some defensive depth he’s someone worth considering. A lot of leagues still have Sam Walsh (MID, 64% – 119) sitting unowned and pushing his average close to 100 makes him worth heavy consideration. In other lines, I gave him a pump-up last week and after keeping a close eye on him during the Derby Matt Taberner (FWD, 53% – 115) is worth starting in your forward line.

Image from zerohanger.com

PLAYERS with lower ownership percentages that could be worth a punt include Jack Higgins (FWD, 26% – 80) who posted his third score over 75 in four tries and Braydon Preuss (RUC, 17% – 61) can help you address your ruck depth with Simon Goodwin indicating that he’ll hold his spot in the side. David Mirra (DEF, 16% – 88) has put up three decent scores this season and copped one DNP. If he can stay in the Hawks side, he’s definitely worth taking a chance on.

MY MOVES

I think Josh Dunkley to Tom Liberatore is a foregone conclusion for me this week. I’m tempted to ditch Will Setterfield and snag Jack Ross, but it would force me to play three rooks in the midfield and with only one MID/FWD currently residing in the engine room, I can’t go another week without Libba in my team.

There is a chance that I hold Setterfield this week and hope that Tom Atkins gains FWD status when the DPP’s are revealed in Round 6, giving me another link in between lines. A rookie downgrade to keep cash generation going is likely for my second move, with Jordan Clark, Matthew Parker and Jack Petrucelle all on the chopping block.

My Trades
J.Dunkley → T.Liberatore
J.Clark → C.Wilkie

Peace ✌